According to the DoD IG Chief FOIA Public Liaison Darryl R. Aaron, the original public release redacted Boeing emails and several references to Boeing out of deference to the company�s privacy and only during the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) review--in response to POGO's and others' FOIA requests--were these emails and references considered for release.

Take the following two side by side images of the same email as a representative example (Click on the images to enlarge them).

If you don't feel like reading through the email image on the right, in brief, it's an email from a Boeing executive to then-Air Force procurement officer Darleen "Dragonlady" Druyun on selling the Boeing tanker lease deal to the White House by dangling the politically attractive carrot of jobs before them--a method known as political engineering. The email ends with Boeing's Andrew Ellis expressing hope to Druyun that the "employment numbers below will provide you enough ammunition for the secretary to respond to the White House." This email was reported in the September 8, 2003 issue of US News and World Report--so it was hardly a secret when the DoD IG report was originally released in May 2005.

Also, lest one think that Boeing was doing all the pushing, the Air Force--particular then-Secretary James Roche--was continually turning to Boeing for help on the political sell. In a November 16, 2003 email, Roche wrote Boeing executive Michael Sears and said:

"Mike, both Johnny and I are seething over Boeing's behavior. Oh, if you all don't start talking up the [Boeing] 767 lease when you visit OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] colleagues, you will see that program go down (we understand that the staff is building up a head of steam to stop the lease). Gee, Mike, when I knew you and Phil, I had the sense you wanted to make money. Guess I was wrong." [emphasis POGO's]

Roche was cleared of wrongdoing by the DoD IG despite evidence available such as this and emails such as the one he sent to Robin Cleveland, Associate Director of National Security Programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he wrote:

Be well.
Smile. Give me tankers (oops, did I say that? My new deal is terrific.)

Senator Grassley sent an August 8, 2005 letter to Schmitz questioning Schmitz�s �decision to submit an Inspector General (IG) to the White House Counsel for review,� referring to the Boeing tanker lease report. Grassley wrote that the legal authority Schmitz cites �for submitting an IG report to the White House Counsel for review appears to be inapplicable and invalid� and that the White House-Congressional agreement have �no legal standing whatsoever� and that Schmitz was �not bound by the protocols.� Furthermore, Grassley argues that because of the White House redactions �potential targets were shielded from possible accountability.�

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Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.